Bottle carrier with reinforced handle and method of making it



Feb. 12, 1957 R. M. BERGSTEIN 2,781,150

BOTTLE CARRIER WITH REINFORCED HANDLE AND METHOD OF MAKING IT Filed June14, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l I N V EN TOR. ,faasrr MBEPGSTE'l/V,

ATTORNEYS.

BERGSTEIN BOTTLE CARRIER WITH REINFORCED HANDLE Feb. 12, 1957 R. M.

AND METHOD OF MAKING IT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 14, 1952 INVEN TOR.

ATTO RNEYS.

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.lililflllllllllllttfilll llllllll I United 2,781,153 Patented Feb. 12,1957 BOTTLE CARRIER WITH REKNFORCED HANDLE AND METHOD OF MAKING H RobertM. Bergstein, Wyoming, Ohio, assignor to The Bergstein Packaging Trust,a trust composed of Robert M. Bergstein and Frank D. BergsteinApplication June 14, 1952, Serial No. 293,530

Claims. (Cl. 220-113) My invention relates to paperboard bottle carriersand more particularly to knock-down or fiat-folding carriers havinginternal partition structures to effectively divide a plurality ofbottles or containers placed in the carrier.

In my copending application entitled Fully Partitioned CollapsibleBottle Carrier, Serial No. 273,896, filed Feburary 28, 1952, now PatentNo. 2,731,170, I have taught the provision of a fully partitionedcarrier of exceptional strength, in which the partition elements areformed as an integral part of the carrier and are erected automaticallyto the desired position as the body walls of the carrier are erected. Inthe field of such carriers, it has become increasingly important toprovide exceptionally strong carrying handles for the carriers, whichhandles will be strong enough to support the full load of the carriersfor a long period of time under conditions wherein the boxboard of thecarrier is unusually damp or even wet due to absorption into theboxboard of unusually large amounts of moisture vapor, as occasioned bythe storage of the carriers in a refrigerator or ice house, as has nowbecome customary, or due to the direct exposures of the carriers towater in the form of rain or otherwise.

A number of bottlers throughout the country have set up testingstandards to determine the serviceability and strength characteristicsof carriers submitted for approval for use with their products. One ofthe standard tests is to expose the test carriers to a shower of Water,then apply a predetermined weight load to them, while holding thecarriers by their handles, to determine the weight load which thecarrier will support even when wet. A similar test, known as a dry test,which eliminates the water shower is also employed; and it has beenfound that a large number of carriers which will satisfactorily pass thedry test, fail to pass the wet test. This failure in a great manyinstances is due to the lack of adequate strength in the handle parts ofthe carriers and the tendency of the board to tear in the areasimmediately above the hand hole openings and adjacent the ends thereof.

It is, therefore, a principal object of my invention to provide apaperboard carrier construction having an extremely sturdy, reinforcedhandle. It is a further object of my invention to provide a sturdy,reinforced handle in a one piece knock-down carrier structure withoutincreasing theamount of board needed to manufacture the same cartonstructure without the reinforced handle.

Yet another object of my invention is the provision of a carrierstructure having a reinforced handle the parts of which can be foldedand glued on equipment currently available in the industry without theneed of expensive modifications or major alternations to the equipment.

These and other objects of my invention which will appear hereinafter orwill be apparent to the skilled worker in the art upon reading thesespecifications, I accomplish by those constructions, procedures andarrangements of parts of which I shall now describe certain exemplaryembodiments:

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the blank for my carrier.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the blank of Figure 1 illustrating anintermediate step in its assembly.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to Figure 3 illustrating one modeof infolding the handle reinforcing portions.

Figure 5 is a sectional view similar to Figure 4 illustrating thecompletion of the folding of the handle reinforcing portions of Figure4.

Figures 6 and 7 are sectional views similar to Figure 3 illustrating analternative mode of infolding the handle reinforcing portions.

Figure 8 is a plan view similar to Figure 2 illustrating the next stagein the assembly of the carrier structure.

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9-9 of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a plan view similar to Figure 8 illustrating the carrier inthe completely assembled but knockeddown condition. a

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of Figure 10.

V Figure 12 is a vertical sectional view taken through the center of thefully erected carrier.

Figurev 13 is a partial sectional view similar to Figure 12 illustratingthe hand hole flaps in carrying position.

Figure 14 is a view similar to Figure 13 illustrating a modified handleconstruction.

Referring now to Figure l of the drawings, the carrier blank comprises abottom panel 1 divided in half by medial score line 2, with side Wallpanels 3 and 4 articulated to opposite side edges of the bottom panel.Partial end wall panels 5, 6, 7 and 8 are articulated to opposite sideedges of the side wall panels and attachment flaps 9 and 10 arearticulated to the outer side edges of partial end wall panels 5 and 7respectively. Handle forming parts 11 and 12, and transverse partitionparts 13, 14, 15 and 16 are provided, as illustrated. Attachment flaps17 and 18 are articulated both to the partial end wall panels 6 and 8and to handle forming parts 11 and 12, and end tabs 19 and 20 arearticulated both to handleforming parts 11 and 12 and to end wallportions 5 and 7. Pairs of hand-hole opening tabs 21 and 22, and 23 and24 are provided in the handle forming parts 11 and 12, respectively. Ofcourse, single, elongated hand-hole opening may be provided if desired.

A center partition and handle-forming part 25 is articulatedto the freeedge of handle forming part 12 along score line 26. Handle reinforcingportions 27 and 23 are formed in the handle-forming part 25, the portion27 being articulated to the handle part along the score line 29 with thehandle reinforcing portion 28 articulated to portion 27 along score line30. The reinforcing portions are preferably longer than the overalllength of the hand-hole openings so as to project beyond the ends of thehand-hole openings in the assembled carrier.

The configuration of the carrier blank is such that pairs of blanks maybe nested with respect to each other by placing them end to end with theextending center partition panels 25 parallel to each other for theutmost possible conservation of boxboard.

In assembling the blank of Figure 1 into a fiat-folded carrierstructure, the blank may be folded by hand; but preferably it is foldedand glued employing suitable folding and gluing equipment which forms nopart of my invention. The construction of the blank is such that it maybe folded and glued on a straight line gluer. such 3 as a Staude mastergluer, or it may be folded and glued on a right angle folding and gluingmachine of the type found in the average box making plant. As seen inFigure 2,'the first folding operation results in the infolding ofpartial end wall panels and 7 along the lines of articulation betweenthe said end wall panels and side overlie rather than to the reinforcingportions themselves and I have also found that the adhesive for thereinforcing portions may be omitted entirely and the reinforcingportions maintained in folded condition by the subsequent folding andgluing of the handle parts.

The folding of the handle reinforcingportion 27 and 28 may be eifected,as seen in Figures 3, 4 and 5, by means of a spring finger 31 which willact to force the reinforcing portions upwardly, as seen in Figure 4. Asthe reinforcing portions are forced upwardly, a sword 32 will engage thereinforcing portions and fold.,them over'and down until the positionillustrated in Figure 5 is reached. 7 f

in Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings, I have illustrated an alternativemode of folding the reinforcing portions wherein a spring finger 31abuckles the portions 27 and with respect to each other along score line39, whereupon a sword 32a engages the upper surface of reinforcingportion 28 and enforces the folding of the portions to the conditionillustrated in Figure 7.

Following the infolding of the reinforcing portions, the centerpartition panel 25 is next infolded to overlie the handle forming part12 and attachment flaps 10 and 18, adhesive having been previouslyapplied to attachment flaps l0 and 18 as indicated by the shaded areasin Figure 2. blank will be moving in' the direction indicated by thearrow A, (Figure 8) irrespective of whether the carrier is being formedon straight line or right angle folding and gluing equipment. Where thehandle reinforcing portions 27 and 28 are infolded in the mannerillustrated in Figurcs 3, 4. and 5, it will be noted that the score line30 separating the reinforcing portions 27 and 28 coincides with thescore line 26 between handle-forming part 12 and center partition panel25; and upon the subsequent infc-lding of center partition panel 25, thereinforcing portions 27 and 23 will be juxtaposed and both portions willoverlie the portion of handle-forming part 12 lying above the hand holetabs 23 and 24, as can be bestseen in Figure 9 of the drawings. can becharacterized as one in which the handle parts are folded inner surfaceto inner surface whereas .the reinforcing panels are folded outersurface to outer surface. For the infolding of these parts, the sword 32can be used as a scorebreaker for the coinciding score lines 26 and 30.

Next the blank is folded along the median score line 2 to bringhandle-forming part 11 and attachment flaps 9 and 1'7 into contact withthe center partition panel 25 and the exposed end portions of attachmentflaps 10 and 3.8. Prior to the infolding of these parts, adhesive willbe preferably applied to the parts as indicated by the shaded areas inFigure 8 of the drawings. The flat-folded form of the carrier is seen inFigures 10 and 11, the latter figure clearly illustrating the S-plyreinforced handle formed by this construction. I

in its fiat-folded form the carrier is ready to be shipped to the userwho has only to erect the structure from the flat-folded condition toready it for use. The erected The folding step just described carrier isseen in Figure 12; and in Figure 13 the handle of the carrier is shownwith the hand hole tabs, such as the tabs 22 and 24, folded to exposethe hand hole openings, the undermost tab 22 passing through the openingfrom one side to the other to form a smooth gripping surface.

.It will be evident from the preceding description that my constructionprovides an exceedingly strong carrier structure having a 5-plyreinforced handle. The handle reinforcing portions, being longer thanthe hand-hole opening, serve to reinforce the handle structure adjacentand beyond the ends of the "hand-hole openings where tearing of thehandles is most likely to occur. In addition to reinforcing the handleof the carrier, rny construc- For this and subsequent folding operationsthe a tion provides for increased reinforcement down' opposite sides ofthe carrier, the multiple plies formed by the attachment flaps, such asthe flaps 17 and 18, the center partition panel 35 and the handleforming parts 11 and 12,.acting to greatly strengthen and rigidify thecarrier structure, thereby preventing buckling and other distortion ofthe parts which would interfere with the automatic'machinery nowemployed both to load and unload the carriers. a

Modifications may be made in my invention without departingfrom thespirit of it; For example, as seen in Figure 14 of the drawings, it iswithin the spirit of my invention to eliminate reinforcing portion 28leaving only reinforcing portion 27, which, when infolded, provides a4-thickness handle structure. It will be evident also that modificationsmay be made in the manner in which adhesive'is applied to the variousparts; and it will also be evident that my reinforced handleconstruction will have application in carrier structures other than theexemplary embodiment described herein.

However, having described my invention in an exemplary embodiment, whatI desire to protect and secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a reinforced handle construction for paperboard carriers and thelike, a first handle part, a hand-hole opening in said handle partspaced from the upper edge thereof, a second handle part articulated tothe upper,

tance'between said last named line of articulation and the hand-holeopening in 'said first handle part, said re inforcing panel having alength greater than the length of the hand-hole opening in said firsthandle part and scored in the direction of the length thereof to definetwo reinforcing portions each having a width substantially equal to thedistance between the line of articulation connecting said handle partsand the line of articulation joining said reinforcing panel to saidsecond handle part, said handle parts lying in face-to-face relationwith said reinforcing portions folded with respect to each other andwith respect'to said second handle part and juxtaposed between saidfirst and second handle parts above the hand-hole openings definedtherein.

2. In a reinforced handle construction for paperboard carriers and thelike, a first handle part, a hand-hole opening in said handle partspaced from the upper edge thereof, a second handle part articulated tothe upper edge of said first handle part and foldable relative thereto,a reinforcing panel formed in said second handle two reinforcingportions each having a width substantially equal to the distance betweenthe line of articula tion connecting said handle parts and the line ofarticulation joining said reinforcing panel to said second handle part,said handle parts lying in face-to-face relation with said reinforcingportions folded with respect to each other and with respect to saidsecond handle part and juxtaposed between said first and second handleparts above the hand-hole openings defined therein, one of saidreinforcing portions being adhesively secured to the inner surface ofsaid first handle part and the other of said reinforcing portions beingadhesively secured to the inner surface of the other of said handleparts.

3. In a reinforced handle construction for paperboard carriers and thelike, a first handle part, a hand-hole opening in said handle partspaced from the upper edge thereof, a second handle part articulated tothe upper edge of said first handle part and foldable relative thereto,a reinforcing panel formed in said second handle part and articulatedthereto along a line of articulation spaced from the line ofarticulation connecting said first and second handle parts by a distancesubstantially equal to the distance between said last named line ofarticulation and the hand-hole opening in said first handle part, saidreinforcing panel having a length greater than the length of thehand-hole opening in said first handle part and scored in the directionof the length thereof to define two reinforcing portions each having awidth substantially equal to the distance between the line ofarticulation connecting said handle parts and the line of articulationjoining said reinforcing panel to said second handle part, said handleparts lying in face-to-face relation with said reinforcing portionsfolded with respect to each other and with respect to said second handlepart and juxtaposed between said first and second handle parts above thehand-hole openings defined therein, and a third handle part adhesivelysecured to said second handle part in face-to-face contactingrelationship, said third handle part having a hand-hole opening thereincorresponding in length to the hand-hole opening in said first handlepart.

4. A process of producing a reinforced handle structure for paperboardcarriers and the like which comprises providing a blank including afirst handle part, a hand-hole opening in said handle part spaced fromthe upper edge thereof, a second handle part articulated to the upperedge of said first handle part, a reinforcing panel formed in saidsecond handle part and connected thereto along a line of articulationspaced from the line of articulation connecting said first and secondhandle parts by a distance substantially equal to the distance betweensaid last named line of articulation and the hand-hole opening in saidfirst handle part, said reinforcing panel being scored in the directionof the length thereof to define two reinforcing portions each having awidth substantially equal to the distance between the line ofarticulation connecting said handle part.-: and the line of articulationjoining said reinforcing panel to said second handle part, folding saidhandle reinforcing portions so as to bring the reinforcing portionadjacent said last named line of articulation into face-to-face contactwith said second handle part, and thereafter folding said handle partswith respect to each other so as to juxtapose the other of saidreinforcing portions between said first handle part and the first ofsaid reinforcing portions.

5. A process of producing a reinforced handle structure for paperboardcarriers and the like which comprises providing a blank including afirst handle part, a hand-hole opening in said handle part spaced fromthe upper edge thereof, a second handle part articulated to the upperedge of said first handle part, a reinforcing panel formed in saidsecond handle part and connected thereto along a line of articulationspaced from the line of articulation connecting said first and secondhandle parts by a distance substantially equal to the distance betweensaid last named line of articulation and the handhole opening in saidfirst handle part, said reinforcing panel being scored in the directionof the length thereof to define two reinforcing portions each having awidth substantially equal to the distance between the line ofarticulation connecting said handle parts and the line of articulationjoining said reinforcing panel to said second handle part, folding saidhandle reinforcing portions along the line of articulation to saidsecond handle part so as to bring the first of said reinforcing portionsinto faceto-face contact with said second handle part and the other ofsaid reinforcing portions into face-to-face contact with said firsthandle part, with the line of articulation between said reinforcingportions coinciding with the line of articulation between the saidhandle parts, and thereafter folding said handle parts with respect toeach other so as to juxtapose the reinforcing portions with respect toeach other, including the step of interposing adhesive between saidreinforcing portions and the portions of the handle parts which theycontact.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,965,886 Everhart .a July 10, 1934 2,111,621 Gerking Mar. 22, 19382,302,676 Crane Nov. 24, 1942 2,354,528 Lowey July 25, 1944 2,368,203Crane Ian. 30, 1945 2,594,377 Arneson Apr. 29, 1952 2,615,612 Vines Oct.28, 1952

